Nahanni Range Road — Watson Lake to Tungsten Ghost Town

The Nahanni Range Road doesn’t apologize for itself. Built in the 1960s to service the Cantung tungsten mine, this route leaves the Alaska Highway near Watson Lake and claws its way northeast through the South Nahanni River watershed, crossing dozens of unnamed creeks, skirting cutbanks above the Flat River, and threading through mountain passes that see snowfall in any month of the year. The ghost town of Tungsten — officially Cantung — sits just across the NWT border, a full industrial mining complex abandoned in 2015, rusting in the subalpine silence. It’s one of the most striking industrial ruins accessible by road in the north.

This is genuine wilderness driving — expect unbridged creek crossings that vary drastically by season, sections of road reclaimed by alder and washout, and zero services for the entire route. A fully built overland rig with a snorkel, recovery gear, and at minimum a 50-litre auxiliary fuel tank is mandatory. Satellite communicator is non-negotiable. The window is tight: mid-July through early September. You’ll need to self-permit through Yukon Environment for any camping along the route corridor. What you get in return is one of the most isolated, historically loaded drives on the continent.